While many voters may think of primaries as the warmup act for the general election, many races in this country at the local, state and federal level are decided by primaries. By some estimates, fewer than 40 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives are actually competitive between the parties. In most districts, whoever wins the primary in the dominant party wins the general election. 

The 2024 primaries are right around the corner so on this podcast, we sat down with Ben Williams, an elections expert at NCSL, to talk about the different types of primaries and why primaries are so important. Williams explained the different approaches states take to the primary system and some of the election history that brought us to this system we now use. He also discussed NCSL’s recent publication, “The State’s Primary Toolkit,” that includes extensive background information on primaries’ changes in states since 2000 and a great deal more.

Resources

• State Primaries Toolkit